Several key decisions including the radical proposals for reforming the football championship have been deferred to a special congress in the autumn, although a decision on the so-called split season is now pending.
A day after the Association announced a record annual loss of €34 million for 2020, the motions have been approved for a first ever remote Annual Congress, set for the weekend after next, February 27th-28th, which given the pandemic restrictions will be a far more limited affair compared to most other years.
Of the 47 motions approved for the Clar, only 37 will be debated and voted on by virtual means, the remaining 10 deferred to a yet unspecified date in the autumn in the hope a full and more robust debate can take place with some or all delegates attending in person.
As expected Motion 18 and 19, which propose four options for the football championship structures, are chief among those 10 now deferred; part of the reasoning is that there’s no immediate urgency for the GAA to make up its mind on what precise format to choose as it would not come into force until 2022.
Of more immediate priority is Motion 12, to agree the concept of a split season, as organised in 2020 and already agreed again for this year, only with county going first (in a reversal of last season’s club-first format).
As expected there is also a motion to address the matter of cynical fouling in hurling, with Motion 20 proposing a black card/sin bin similar to use in football; it would also allow for a penalty to be awarded if a player is deliberately denied a goal scoring opportunity due to foul play.
On the so-called split season, Motion 12 proposes that: “The All-Ireland Senior Finals shall be played in Croke Park. The Finals shall be played on or before the 29th Sunday in the year (essentially before the end of July) on dates determined by the Central Council.” ( Exception: Where the first Sunday of the year falls on January 1st, the finals shall be played on or before the 30th Sunday of the year.)
Motion 20 addresses the matter of a black card in hurling, and proposes the following fouls on “an attacking player with a goal scoring opportunity, either inside the 20-metre line or the semi-circular arc, (a) To pull down an opponent or (b) To trip an opponent with hands, arm, leg, foot, or hurley or (c) To use the hurley in a careless manner (5.6) the following penalties shall apply: A Penalty Puck shall be awarded to the team affected; additional to being issued a Caution (Yellow Card), the offender shall be sent to the Sin Bin for 10 minutes.”
Also, if considered a Category II Infraction (Cynical Behaviour) on an attacking player with a goal scoring opportunity, “either inside the 20-meter line or the semi-circular arc, a penalty kick shall be awarded to the team affected.”
The intention was to trial this new rule during the league, ahead of the 2021 championship; this remains the case despite the continued uncertainty whether or not the league will now precede the championship, and if not, the intention is to trail it during regime of challenge games.
On the more radical matter of the football championship structure, the Fixture Calendar Review Task Force (FCRTF) proposed four options, including the “four eights” - standardising the four provinces into eight-county units by shifting teams based on placing in the national league - and a format completely based on the league, which would be played in summer, plus the retention of the current format.
Given what’s at stake it was agreed these proposal would be best deliberated on with conventional congress attendances. The proposals of FCRTF were first launched in December 2019, originally due for debate as a special congress last September, which was also ruled out by the Covid-19 crisis.
The task force was also the initiative of GAA president John Horan, whose term of office concludes at Congress, with Larry McCarthy taking over, thus ending hopes that Horan would be in office to see the proposals through. The majority of the 37 motions that will be debated at the end of the month are mostly housekeeping, the full list of which is below.
GAA CONGRESS MOTIONS 2021 -
* To be decided at Special Congress in autumn 2021
Ard Chomhairle Motions
1. Re-define Development Officer Role*
2. Change Financial Year End
3. Establish Audit And Risk Committees*
Motions for Listing on Congress Clar
4. Adopt Sport Ireland Anti Doping protocols
5. Team Sheets signed by Secretary or Assistant
6. Closed Season defined by Central Council
7. One winning captain accepts trophy
Motions Arising from Ard Chomhairle Rule Interpretation
8. Kick out passed back to goalkeeper results in 13m free
Motions Proposed by Units
9. Walkover is not “net game” for suspension purposes*
10. Player must complete on-line anti-doping training
11. County safety and facilities Officer*
Motions from Calendar Review task Force Report
12. All-Ireland Finals moved forward (creating split season)
13. 16 team limit for senior county championships
14. Remove u20 hurling semi finals
15. Restrict senior player eligibility for u20 hurling
16. Defined dates for Post Primary and Third Level Finals
17. Re-constitute All Ireland Junior Football Championship
18. New Football Season structures*
19. Alternative New Football Season structures*
Motions from Standing Committee on Playing Rules
(if passed, to come into force four weeks after Congress)
20. Black Card added to hurling cynical foul, plus direct penalty etc
21. Advantage Rule further clarified
22. Misconduct by Team Officials
23. Unauthorised incursions onto field of play
24. Extend scope of the offence of making racist/sectarian remark to referee
25. Team can complete a match with 13 players
26. Waving hurley to obstruct a free taker
27. Extend current blood sub arrangements to include a suspected head injury
Motions from International Work Group
28. Include World GAA in aims and ethos
29. Re-define international units’ representation at Congress*
30. World GAA can submit a motion to Congress
31. World GAA representation on Central Council
32. Central Council can define jurisdiction of World GAA
33. Establish World GAA and define its powers
34. Central Council can appoint World GAA chair
35. International player eligibility and licensing*
36. International player gradings*
37. World GAA ad access to DRA*
Motions from Rules Advisory Committee
38. Extend requirement for name in Irish to “official in charge of team”
39. Club adopts constitution specifically at General meeting
40. Extensive revision of Club Constitution
41. Hearings jurisdiction includes club executive committee
42. Specific date for Provincial Convention
43. Playing rules motions referred to Standing Committee
44. Clarifying a player’s “other relevant connection” with county
45. Re-define categories of misconduct in playing infractions
46. Permit evidence older than 96 weeks to a hearing if sufficiently serious
47. No appeal outside county regarding a Hearings decision on club matter
